SX Global announced the first four of 10 exclusive teams that will compete in the inaugural FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX). The teams are MotoConcepts Honda, Pipes Motorsports Group, Bud Racing Kawasaki and GSM Yamaha
“All four of these teams bring a level of experience, credibility and operational and competitive excellence, necessary to delivering the highest levels of competition to fans around the world; and we could not be more excited to award them licenses,” said Adam Bailey, managing director of SX Global in a release. “As we embark on our inaugural pilot season, it’s critical that each of our teams bring a spirit of collaboration in the broader effort to drive our sport forward and expand its relevance across the globe, and that’s exactly the case for each of these teams and owners.”
These four teams were selected for their ability to leverage their existing experience to field competitive 450 and 250 class entrants.
The WSX Series will employ a model that awards exclusive team ownerships as a way of managing the competitive landscape for their shareholders. It is believed this exclusivity will increase the value of the teams over time, much like the charter system in NASCAR has done for those organizations.
In the release, SX Global also announced 40 teams from around the world have applied to be one of the inaugural 10 teams.
“In order for any sport, or any business to grow successfully, financial structures have to establish wider-ranging revenue potential and overall returns for owners and investors,” said Tony Cochrane, president of SX Global. “It’s a model that has proven successful for decades at the highest levels of professional sports, and yet it has not existed in supercross, and we are changing that.
“For the first time, supercross team owners have a true investment platform, with the ability to increase the financial value and equity of their teams over time.”
MORE: SX Global announces FIM Supercross World Championship Series
To further this goal, SX Global has allocated $50 million for team and rider support over the course of the first five years.
MotoConcepts Honda and Pipes Motorsports both have connections with the US-based Monster Energy Supercross and Lucas Oil Motocross series.
MotoConcepts has fielded bikes for Justin Brayton and Vince Friese. Pipes comes with a background as both a rider and manager for Twisted Tea / HEP Motorsports. This team will field Suzuki bikes.
The other two inaugural teams, Bud Racing and GSM Yamaha, have French connections.
Bud Racing will be helmed by Stéphane Dassé, who has worked with Marvin Musquin and Dylan Ferrandis in the past. Serge Guidetty and the GSM Yamaha team are the current French supercross champions.
Four events are projected for a 2022 “pilot season” that will springboard riders into 2023, when the series will begin their annual calendar of events between June and November, providing a seamless continuation of supercross competition after the Monster Energy Supercross season typically wraps up in late May.
To keep anticipation high, the global series will feature the richest championship prize purses in the sport’s history, with a total of $250,000 up for grabs at each round.
